The 20 largest Chinese fast-moving consumer goods companies have been revealed in a recent analysis report, with the top three firms accounting for close to half of the growth in the sector.

A recent market analysis of the biggest players in the Chinese fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has revealed the 20 largest local operators, combining for revenues in excess of a 720 billion yuan (>US$100 billion). Of this sum, the privately owned meat and food processing company WH Group was well out ahead in the top spot, contributing ~144 billion yuan alone.

Joining the WH Group were the market’s other clear giants in the oil and grain company China Agri-Industries Holdings Food and Beverage (~68.65 billion yuan in revenues) and the state-owned Inner Mongolian dairy producers Yili Group Food and Beverage (67.48 billion yuan) – the three outfits together accounting for nearly half of the sector’s recent revenue growth.

Despite the growth, however, which for China Agri-Industries and Yili Group were recorded at a respective 16 and 13 percent, the report points to an overall industry slowdown, with strong competition and a continuing focus on shifting traditional markets variously constricting growth – the saturation of the traditional beer market given as an example, as local consumers turn to artisanal beverages.*

Still, the remaining companies outside of the three leading players (WH Group revenues grew by 5%) achieved an average growth rate of 8.6 percent, with the sixth biggest company, Chinese liquor producer Kweichow Moutai, registering a staggering 53 percent hike in revenues. The jump, according to the report released by Ouyi Analysis Consulting, can be put down to international expansion, strengthening both the domestic brand and capturing new customers.

According to separate data from OC&C Strategy Consultants, the two largest Chinese FMCG companies in 2017 were WH Group – the largest pork producer on the planet – and instant noodle producer Tingyi (which placed 5th in the recent Ouyi report), with both among the top 50 FMCG players in the world – WH Group as the 17th largest globally and Tingyi moving to 48th.

Meanwhile, Kweichow Moutai has been ranked as the seventh most valuable Chinese brand of any sector according to market research analysts Kantar, rising 43 percent year-on-year to a value of over $23 billion – with the firm now estimated to have an overall value of more than $145 billion, making it the most valuable liquor producer in the world.